


I Can Feel You Breathe

by asofthesea



Series: whumptober 2019 [10]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Asphyxiation, Buried Alive, Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Peter Parker-centric, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Whump, Whumptober, Whumptober 2019, based on a supernatural episode lightly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-29
Updated: 2019-10-29
Packaged: 2021-01-06 05:34:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21221405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asofthesea/pseuds/asofthesea
Summary: Tony’s voice comes through, “Peter, where are you? Where have you been? We’ve been worried sick about you.”“I’m in a box,” Peter says.“A box?” Tony asks, clearly confused.Peter clarifies, “A pine box, I think.”Prompt: Asphyxiation





	I Can Feel You Breathe

Peter gasps as he wakes up.

He tries to sit up, but his head hits something that makes him lie right back down. His eyes fly open to see where he is, but he can’t see anything. He is pretty sure that his eyes are open, but he must be in total blackness.

He feels for his phone in his pockets. When he fails to find it there, his hands find his watch. He activates it, shining the light around.

His breath catches in his chest as he realizes he’s in a casket, he must be buried underground. After a few steadying breaths to try and calm himself down, he thinks of what to do. The call is connecting through his watch before Peter even realizes that he had pressed the button.

Tony’s voice comes through, “Peter, where are you? Where have you been? We’ve been worried sick about you.”

“I’m in a box,” Peter says.

“A box?” Tony asks, clearly confused.

Peter clarifies, “A pine box, I think.”

His mentor inhales a sharp breath, “Peter, are you buried under the ground? Please say no.”

“I’m not sure, Mr. Stark. My thoughts are all fuzzy. I just woke up, and I don’t know how long I’ve been here.”

“Focus, Peter, can you hear anything? Anything at all?”

Peter closes his eyes and focuses his ears. He can usually hear the hustle and bustle of the city constantly, but the absolute silence is intimidating.

“I can’t hear anything, it’s all quiet,” Peter says, “Can you just track my watch? I have no idea where I am.”

“I’m working on it, kiddo, but the signal is having a tough time finding you. Probably because you’re underground.”

Peter sighs and asks, “How long do you think I have?”

“I’ll find you, Pete, I promise,” Tony’s voice turns steely.

Peter has no doubt that Tony will find him, but he has no idea how soon. His hand lifts up to the lid of the box and experimentally pushes. It has a little give, nothing Peter can’t break. However, if he does break the box open, dirt will come rushing in. He has no idea how deep he’s buried.

“Do you know who did this, Mr. Stark? I don’t remember anything,” Peter asks. He is curious, but he also doesn’t want to be left alone with his thoughts.

“I am working on that, too. I didn’t even know where you were until a few minutes ago, and I still really don’t. My first priority is going to be to get you out of there, then I’m going to find the son of a bitch who did this and skin him alive.”

“Or her,” Peter says, trying to lighten the mood.

“Or her,” Tony agrees.

The box feels like it’s getting smaller. The air getting stuffier, making it harder to think.

“I’ve got you, Pete,” Tony says.

“How long?” Peter manages to ask through his anxiety.

“Ten minutes, at most,” Tony promises.

Peter doesn’t want to be down here for another minute. He can’t take it. If he is down here much longer, he is going to have a panic attack, which would not be good. He has to keep himself busy. Plus, Mr. Stark is on his way.

“I’m gonna climb out,” Peter says.

“What? No. Peter, that is not a good idea. Just wait for me,” Tony orders.

Peter shakes his head, “I can’t wait any longer, I want out now. You’re coming, I’ll be fine.”

“Yes, you’ll be fine, so please just wait for me,” Tony pleads.

“You’ll get here soon enough, but how long will it take for you to dig me out? I can’t wait, Mr. Stark, I’m sorry.”

He ignores Tony’s pleads to wait for him as he brings his hands up to the lid of the box and pushes. He has to push harder than he thought, but the box still breaks. Peter doesn’t even get a moment to think before dirt starts flooding his casket.

He starts digging through all of the dirt and out of his casket. Maybe he should have waited for Tony, but there’s no turning back now. His legs protest at being moved because of how long they’ve been still.

Peter keeps digging his way to what he’s almost sure is up. Being completely surrounded by dirt feels like he’s underwater. All he wants is the reach the surface, but he is stuck. He can barely breathe without getting some dirt in his nostrils. He keeps his eyes closed because he doesn’t want to get anything in his eyes and because the thought of opening them again and seeing nothing scares him.

His watch has since disconnected, or maybe it is still on and Peter just can’t hear Tony through all of the dirt falling in his ears each time he moves. He tries not to think of how much longer it is going to take Tony to get here. If it was hard to breathe before, it is almost impossible now.

Tony will make it, he never lets him down. Tony is Iron Man. Iron Man could do anything, Peter would be fine.

May must be worried about him. He tries to focus his thoughts on her as he continues to dig his way upwards. She probably called Tony as soon as she knew he was missing. Peter can’t even remember the last thing he remembers. Whoever took him must have hit him over the head and caused what is hopefully short-term memory loss.

If he thinks really hard, the last thing he remembers is hanging out with Ned and MJ at lunch. They were eating super thin slices of turkey with cold mashed potatoes, one of the school’s favorite lunches to serve.

Peter even misses those cold potatoes right now. He wishes he was at school in his least favorite class. His hands continue to move and dig him out and he pushes his body upwards. He’ll be out of here in no time and back to eating shitty school lunches soon.

When his hand finally breaks through to the surface, Peter could cry if he had the energy. His left hand joins his right in being above the ground. He starts to push his arms apart to pull himself towards the surface. He’s out to about his elbows when he feels something cold grab him.

For a moment he’s worried he’s going to be pushed back down, never to reach the surface again. That is, until he feels himself being pulled up and out of the ground.

Peter is so relieved that someone has come to save him that he goes completely lax. He is so tired, he lets this other person do all of the work for him. This could be his captor, but he doesn’t care. He is just so tired.

As his head breaks through the dirt, he takes his first truly deep breath in a while. Then, he starts coughing as he is pulled completely from the ground.

He sneezes a few times during his coughing fit, and he feels a warm hand on his back.

“I’ve got you kiddo,” he recognizes the voice as Tony’s as the man pulls him into his arms.

Peter wants to thank Tony for saving him, but he can’t seem to get the words out even as his coughs slow.

“You’re okay, I got you,” Tony says. Peter wonders which one of them he’s trying to assure of that fact.

Peter slowly opens his eyes as he adjusts to the brightness of the sun. He looks up at Tony to see the man studying him.

“What, do I got something on my face?” Peter asks.

Tony huffs out a laugh, “A lot of dirt, actually.”

Peter groans and lets his head fall against Tony’s chest, “I am so dirty, I want a shower. And a nap. I also would like a nap.”

Tony runs his hands through Peter’s hair, “Well, let’s go then.”


End file.
